Follow the daily interactions of an affable bar manager of pretty cool and not-so-typical watering hole in NYC, in a not-so-typical neighborhood, Murray Hill. There may be some blurbs overheard at the bar, stimulating observations and random thoughts on random things. So be careful, you never know what might end up here....Enjoy and welcome to my world!

7.11.2011

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS

Looking back over the past weekend, it's fairly obvious that the biggest highlight had to have been Derek Jeter and his quest for the elusive 3,000 Hit Club (at least on the local level). He achieved that mark on Saturday, much to the delight of NY Yankee fans who made the game that day. And he did it in grand style: Going 5-5 for the day, and getting the magic 3,000th hit via an unlikely home run to left field. Talk about an epic performance!

There was also a lot of buzz generated by the lucky fan who caught the home run ball. Speculation ran rampant that whoever caught the lucky 3,000th hit ball could command anywhere from $100,000 to $400,000 or even more for the ball. However, the fan did what many are calling a classy gesture: He gave the ball back to Jeter for free. The team, responding to the nice gesture, did one of its own: They gave him great seats for every home game for the rest of the season AND playoffs, along with autographed stuff from the Captain himself. You couldn't have scripted a better story.

Then there was the other big story of the weekend: The U.S. Women's Soccer Team's improbable comeback victory over Brazil in the World Cup quarterfinals. The match was marred by crappy refereeing which had HUGE ramifications on the match itself. At one point, thanks to a bad call by the ref, Team USA found itself down one woman against a feisty Brazilian team. Then to make matters worse, Brazil was awarded a penalty kick for the same infraction, which Team USA initially stopped. Amidst the celebration of the stop, the referee waived off the save and gave Brazil another try, which they made, tying the score at 1-1. Brazil then took the lead in extra time, thanks to a goal scored which should have been waived off due to offsides.

To add insult to injury, the Brazilian players kept diving and pulling stall tactics that enraged the fans in the stands. This, however, ended up being their undoing as Team USA were able to somehow overcome all of their antics by scoring an improbable last-second header to send the game to the penalty shot phase. Team USA scored on all of their penalties while Brazil missed two of five shots, thus giving Team USA the miracle victory. Quite easily one of the most thrilling soccer matches ever played, by male or female.

It certainly was an "epic" weekend if you're a sports fan.

BEER UPDATE: We're celebrating the return of MAGIC HAT #9 to the tap rotation. So now as of today you can enjoy the following beers on tap:

Bud

Bud Light

Magic Hat #9

Ommegang BPA (July's Beer of the Month)

Rogue Dead Guy Ale

Guinness

Hoegaarden

Leffe Blonde

Dieu du Ciel Rosee D'Hibiscous

Newcastle Brown Ale

Stella Artois

Shock Top Belgian Ale

Sam Adams Summer Ale

Lagunitas IPA

Blue Point Blueberry

TONIGHT: Catch the MLB Home Run Derby tonight during "Monday Night Delight"($2 mugs, all domestic drafts & 2 for 1 Wine/Sangria by the Glass, 5pm-close)! AC's pumping and all is well in the world. Swing by!